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U.S. Supreme Court sides with Fort Stewart father

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Fort Stewart soldier may continue his appeal for custody of his daughter, who was taken more than a year ago against his wishes to Scotland.

The unanimous decision by the nation’s highest court means that Army Sgt. First Class Jeff Chafin can move forward with his appeal of a lower Alabama federal court’s ruling, which allowed Chafin’s estranged wife to take the girl to her home country.

After learning of the court’s opinion, Chafin said happy was not a strong enough word to express his emotions.

“After you’ve been yelling and screaming for so long and now justice has been done — finally somebody has heard you; I just can’t believe it,” he said by phone while training in New Mexico.

The case was argued before Supreme Court justices on Dec. 5, 2012.

Tuesday’s decision could establish an important precedent to grant losing parents in international custody cases the right to appeal.

Chafin argued he was denied that right in February 2012, when the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his appeal on the grounds that U.S. courts lacked authority under the governing Hague Convention to rule on an appeal once children in custody cases have left the country.

Essentially, the circuit court said the removal of children made such cases meaningless, or moot as the courts worded it, because the issues presented are no longer live.

Like so many international custody cases before Chafin v. Chafin, that meant that Lynne Hales Chafin could flee overseas with now 6-year-old Erin immediately after a hearing in her favor. She did so after the Alabama federal court’s decision in October 2011.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court held that the “return of a child to a foreign country pursuant to a Convention return order does not render an appeal of that order moot.”

“This dispute is still very much alive,” said Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court.

“On many levels, the Chafins continue to vigorously contest the question of where their daughter will be raised. This is not a case where a decision would address ‘a hypothetical state of facts.’”

“This case highlights the need for both speed and cer­tainty in Convention decision-making,” wrote Ginsburg.

Michael Manely, Jeff Chafin’s attorney, said he now expects the 11th U.S. Circuit Court to issue a scheduling order within a week or so for an argument, which he believes his client will win on the grounds that Erin was indeed a habitual resident of the U.S. prior to living in Scotland.

Lynne Chafin argued that there was an agreement that Scotland would be the habitual residence of Erin — who was born in Germany — while Jeff Chafin served in combat.

Aware that the Supreme Court’s decision is but a big victory in a protracted battle to gain custody of his daughter, whom he last saw at Christmas time in Scotland, Jeff Chafin said he intends to continue fighting for as long as it takes.

The Afghanistan War veteran sees his latest battle as a win for other parents in similar circumstances, especially those who have served in the armed services.

“For me this is just about getting my daughter back in a safe environment,” he said.

“But in the grand scale of everything we have other people actually in the same situation I’m in right now that are going through this, especially military service members, all branches. There are a lot of marriages that have international spouses, so this is good for the future. It definitely gives everybody a fighting chance.”